focus on low vision

Obama's Agenda… for People with Disabilities

by Lester Marks

What could the Obama administration mean for people with disabilities, and particularly people with visual impairments? The following is a compilation of a few important issues that President Obama discussed over the course of his campaign, followed by pending legislation that he will likely address over the next four years.

RESEARCH FUNDING

President Obama has stated he intends to increase funding for NIH (National Institutes of Health) so that the United States can adequately conduct research that will lead to medical breakthroughs in all fields, including eye research.

The NEI is the lead federal agency charged with the duty of protecting and prolonging the vision of the American people. It has provided thousands of research grants to institutions throughout the United States that have lead to important discoveries of certain causes of eye diseases and improved treatments.

INCREASING EMPLOYMENT

Employment and compensation rates among people with disabilities are substantially lower than people without disabilities. President Obama plans to increase employment rates of people with a disability by issuing an executive order that mandates the hiring of an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities over the next five years.

He also plans to enforce Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act that requires employers who are federal contractors "to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities." In addition, he wants to amend regulations under the Small Business Act that provide preference in federal contracting to small businesses owned by members of socially and economically disadvantaged groups to include individuals with disabilities.

FEDERAL DISABILITY LAWS

Recent court rulings restricted the definition of "disability" and impacted many people with chronic conditions, including diabetes. Such rulings ran counter to the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and in September 2008 Congress passed the ADA Restoration Act, which expanded the definition of workplace accommodations and the definition of "disability." As a senator, President Obama voted in favor of this act and has said that he will be in favor of similar methods that strengthen and protect the rights of people with disabilities.

Voting rights for people with disabilities is another priority for President Obama. He intends to fully fund the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) that will allow voters with a visual impairment the opportunity to cast their vote independently.

EARLY INTERVENTION

President Obama has also vowed to invest $10 billion per year in early intervention programs for children between zero and five. Increasing funding will provide greater access to important programs for children with disabilities to ensure that they do not fall behind their peers.

PENDING LEGISLATION

Following is a list of some of the pending legislation that will impact people with a disability:

■ INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) (S.88). As a candidate, President Obama supported the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which would provide important federal funding to states for the education of children with disabilities.

The federal government has long provided each state with 40 percent of the state's "excess cost" of educating children with disabilities. Recent federal funding levels have been less than that and have left the education of children with disabilities insufficiently funded. This additional funding will provide every student with a disability access to a public education.

■ VISION CARE FOR KIDS ACT OF 2009 (S.259/H.R. 577). Undetected vision problems in children can have an adverse impact on a child's development. This bill seeks to detect vision problems earlier, and creates a federal grant program to provide comprehensive eye examinations for children who have been previously identified through a vision screening or eye examination as needing such services, with priority given to children who are under the age of nine years.

Also included in this legislation is a component to educate parents and child care providers to recognize signs of a visual impairment in children.

■ COMMUNITY CHOICE ACT. This legislation—which seeks to allow people with significant disabilities the choice of living in their community, rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution—will expand direct care services and would provide people with disabilities greater access to quality in-home care.

These are just a few of the important proposals that are currently pending in Washington. For more detail, visit President Obama's website about disability issues at http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/.

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Lester Marks is the government affairs and policy manager at Lighthouse International.